Time-measuring device

ABSTRACT

A time-stamp clock for marking a time card comprising a timepiece mechanism in driving relation with a rotatable stamp having at least one time mark, and means for positioning a time card relative to said stamp to enable marking at different times on said card with the time marks disposed substantially in registry thereon.

United States Patent 1 Sulzberger TIME-MEASURING DEVICE Inventor: Werner Snlzberger, Dahlholzliweg 13, Bern, Switzerland Filed: Sept. 11, 1970 Appl. No.: 71,449

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Sept. 20, 1969 Switzerland ..l4l66/69 US. Cl. ..346/82, 346/88, 346/143 Int. Cl. ..G07c 1/06 Field of Search ..346/82, 88, 142, 143, 92, 20

1451 Apr. 3, 1973 References Cited Primary Examiner-Joseph W. I-lartary Attorney-Imirie and Smiley ABSTRACT A time-stamp clock for marking a time card comprising a timepiece mechanism in driving relation with a rotatable stamp having at least one time mark,and means for positioning a time card relative to said stamp to enable marking at different times on said card with the time marks disposed substantially in registry thereon.

9 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PATH-mums I973 7 5,952

A A :2 3:8 w-4 o0 HCLZ INVENTOR V R NE R 50L. 2 BER G ga pmk 4037 s.

TIME-MEASURING DEVllCE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION ciphers. This prior apparatus is complicated and expensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A time-measuring and stamping clock according to the invention is of simple design, easily transportable, ready for use at any place and inexpensive, but capable of printing time marks with such an accuracy that printing in ciphers or other indicia may be dispensed with. The time-measuring device according to this invention broadly comprises a timepiece having a driven shaft in driving relation with a carrier supporting a time stamp having only a time mark for stamping the time, said timepiece being mounted on one portion and said guide means being mounted on another portion respectively of said time-stamp clock, such portions being guided for translatory displacement in a direction parallel to said shaft of said timepiece whereby said portions are maintained in a predetermined relative angular position.

Due to the accurately guided relative displacement between the time stamp and the guide means for the card the latter is always held in a predetermined fixed position in such guide means with reference to the is simple, inexpensive and highly reliable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a vertical section of the time-stamp clock according to the invention, and

FIG. 2 is a top view of the same.

The time-stamp clock illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a base 1 whereon a timepiece 2 is mounted by a lower flange, not shown. The timepiece has a hollow hour a shaft 3 wherein a winding shaft 4 is coaxially mounted.

A disc-shaped carrier 5 is mounted on a shoulder of the hour shaft 3. A disc spring 6 inserted between a nut screwed onto hour shaft 3 and the bottom of a recess of carrier 5 forms a friction clutch between parts 3 and 5 such that the carrier 5 may be rotated for adjustment relatively to the hour shaft 3 if the friction is overcome. A stamp 7 having a radial rib 8 and raised reference ciphers or characters 9 at its upper side is fixed in a radial groove of carrier 5.

A casing comprising a cylindrical wall 11 and a transverse wall or cover 12 of transparent material such as Plexiglass, secured together by screws 12', is guided for vertical translatory displacement relatively to the base 1 by means of three guide bolts or post 10, 10' threaded in the base 1. Pressure springs 14 are inserted between the guide bolts 10 and screws 13 threaded into threaded upper ends of guiding bores in the cylindrical casing wall, the casing being usually held in an upper rest position shown in FIG. 1 by springs 14 and determined by abutment of internal shoulders in the bores in the casing against the heads of the guide bolts 10.

The cover 12 has a flat recess of substantially rectangular form at its bottom side, the parallel side surfaces 15 of this recess forming lateral guides and the inner end surface 16 of the recess forming a stop for a rectangular time card to be inserted between cover 12 and casing 11. The outer end of the recess has an opening that is slightly widened in all directions for facilitating insertion of a card.

From the inner stop surface 16 a flat channel 17 extends to the'outer rim of cover 12, a locking slide 18 being inserted into this channel between cover 12 and easing wall 11. Slide 18 is usually urged into an inner locking position as illustrated by means of a leaf spring 19. The slide 18 has a slot 21 opening through its inner edges, and in locking position the locking slide slot 21 receives a locking pin 20 supported on the one guide bolt 10' and vertically displaceable in a bore of the one screw 13. Above the locking pin 20 the cover 12 has a recess 22 adapted to receive the upper end of pin 20.

The cover 12 has a central hole through which a key for rewinding the timepiece may be slipped onto the winding shaft 4, or carrier 5 may be displaced relatively to the hour shaft 3 by means of a special key. A time scale or dial having the usual division of 1 to 12 in the present example, is printed to the lower surface of the cover as partly shown in FIG. 2, the position of this dial being coaxial with shaft 3. I

The running time-stamp clock may be placed anywhere, for instance on a work table, near a machine-tool, on an office table or in a vehicle. Thereby the timepiece continuously advances the time stamp 7 at a speed of one revolution in 12 hours. Therefore, the time stamp and its rib 8 respectively correspond to the hour hand of a clock and the time may be read on the dial of the cover. If the time is to be registered, for instance at the beginning or end of an operation or work to be executed, a card, for instance the one end of a punched card, is inserted into the guide means between the cover and casing until it abuts against the inner surface 16.

The locking slide 18 is shifted outwardly by the inner rim of the card so that the slide is completely shifted beyond the locking pin 20. By manual pressure onto the cover the whole casing together with the inserted card is now pressed downwardly until the casing abuts against the base 1, whereby the downward stroke is so designed that the card is sufficiently pressed against the stamp 7 in order to clearly print a radial line or mark by means of rib 8 and a reference cipher by means of ciphers 9 of the stamp. The casing is now released and a is reset into its upper rest position by springs 14.

Thereafter the card is removed, whereby the locking slide 18 is shifted back into its locking position by spring 19. If now, without a card in the guide means or with a card incompletely shifted into the guide means without displacing the locking slide, downward pressure is excerted onto the casing, the locking slide 18 laying between cover 12 and locking pin 20 prevents downward displacement of the casing and thereby undesired printing onto the lower side of cover 12 or in a wrong place of the inserted card.

The card may have a printed dial or time scale where the time mark is printed by the rib 8 of stamp 7, this dial enabling approximate reading of the time difference between succeeding prints. Higher accuracy of the reading and higher speed of evaluation of time intervals may be obtained by the use of more or less complicated implements either generally available or specialized for reading time registrations of the type obtained with the above time-stamp clock. Specialized evaluating apparatus may be used on an opticalmechanical, a photo-electric or an electronic basis. According to the requirements of a user or organization of users, the time-measuring device of this invention may comprise one or more time-stamp clocks of the type described above, whereby the time differences printed by the clock are read and evaluated by means of generally available implements and by means of the dial printed on the card, or special evaluating apparatus may be provided allowing an increase in reading and evaluating accuracy and speed.

What Iclaim is:

1. A time-stamp clock for stamping a time card, comprising:

a timepiece having a shaft driven at a predetermined speed; a carrier rotatably mounted on said timepiece in driven relation with said shaft, said carrier having a time stamp face perpendicular to the rotational axis of said carrier;

a time stamp having a single time mark on said carrier face;

a casing at least partially covering said carrier and including a peripheral wall surrounding at least the time stamp face of said carrier in parallel relation with said carrier axis, and a transverse wall parallel with said carrier face and perpendicular to said carrier axis;

said casing having a narrow time card receiving slot opening through said peripheral wall and contiguous with the inner surface of said transverse wall, said slot being bounded by opposed side walls spaced a distance substantially equal to the width of a time card, an end wall opposite the slot opening to limit the insertion of a time card, and coplanar wall portions adjacent said side and end walls and spaced from said inner transverse wall surface a distance substantially equal to the thickness of a time card to support a card in substantially a predetermined transverse position relative to said stamp, and

means non-rotatively but slidably connecting said casing and timepiece for relative movement axially of said carrier with the plane of said coplanar wall portions free of the plane of said time stamp but permitting relative movement between said casing and carrier to engage a time card in said slot with said time stamp and pressed there against by said transverse wall;

said casing slot and its boundary walls constituting guide means enabling repeated insertion of time coplanar wall portions free of the plane of said time stamp.

3. A clock according to claim 2 wherein said connecting means comprises a plurality'of parallel guide posts fixed around said timepiece parallel with said shaft, said casing peripheral wall having a' plurality of bores slidably receiving said posts, means trapping said posts within said bores but permitting limited slidable movement therebetween,and means closing the ends of said bores opposite said posts, said spring means being compressed between said closing means and the inner ends of said posts.

4. A clock according to claim 3 wherein said casing has a narrow slot extending between and opening through said card slot end wall and the outer surface of said peripheral wall, one of said bores being perpendicularly aligned with and opening into said narrow slot, said casing having a cavity opening into said narrow slot opposite said bore, said closing means for said bore having an aperture therethrough, a lock pin fixed to the guide post in said bore and extending through said aperture and across said narrow slot into said cavity when said casing is moved toward said timepiece in opposition to said spring means, and a lock plate slidably mounted in said narrow slot and spring biased so that its inner end normally protrudes into said card slot and said plate overlies said lock pin, said lock plate having an opening which is aligned with said lock pin when said plate is displaced by a card inserted into said card slot to permit passage of said pin through said opening and movement of said casing relative to said timepiece. t

5. A clock according to-claim 4 wherein said transverse wall is independent of said peripheral wall, said casing including means rigidly securing said walls together, said transverse wall having a flat recess in its inner surface defining said card and narrow slots.

6. A clock according to claim 5 wherein said transverse wall is transparent and comprises a dial overlying said time stamp.

7. A clock according to claim 1 wherein said transverse wall is independent of said peripheral wall, said casing including means rigidly securing said walls together, said transverse wall having a flat recess in its inner surface defining said card slot. i

8. A time-stamp clock for marking a time card inserted therein, comprising;

a time piece including a drive shaft;

a carrier mounted for rotation by said drive shaft and having a stamp face;

a time-stamp'having only a time mark, mounted on said carrier stamp face for rotation therewith; and

guide means overlying said carrier and time-stamp for receiving an inserted card and guiding the card against said stamp to provide said mark, said means including guide surfaces for spatially fixing three edges of said card to restrain lateral movement thereof, said guide means supporting translatory axial displacement with respect to said carrier peripheral wall and a transverse wall respectively of a casing constituting said guide means, said slide projecting into the space defined within said guide means under spring action and covering a locking pin slidingly passing through said peripheral wall of the casing, said locking slide being shiftable into a position disengaged from said locking pin by a time card inserted into said guide means. 

1. A time-stamp clock for stamping a time card, comprising: a timepiece having a shaft driven at a predetermined speed; a carrier rotatably mounted on said timepiece in driven relation with said shaft, said carrier having a time stamp face perpendicular to the rotational axis of said carrier; a time stamp having a single time mark on said carrier face; a casing at least partially covering said carrier and including a peripheral wall surrounding at least the time stamp face of said carrier in parallel relation with said carrier axis, and a transverse wall parallel with said carrier face and perpendicular to said carrier axis; said casing having a narrow time card receiving slot opening through said peripheral wall and contiguous with the inner surface of said transverse wall, said slot being bounded by opposed side walls spaced a distance substantially equal to the width of a time card, an end wall opposite the slot opening to limit the insertion of a time card, and coplanar wall portions adjacent said side and end walls and spaced from said inner transverse wall surface a distance substantially equal to the thickness of a time card to support a card in substantially a predetermined transverse position relative to said stamp, and means non-rotatively but slidably connecting said casing and timepiece for relative movement axially of said carrier with the plane of said coplanar wall portions free of the plane of said time stamp but permitting relative movement between said casing and carrier to engage a time card in said slot with said time stamp and pressed there against by said transverse wall; said casing slot and its boundary walls constituting guide means enabling repeated insertion of time cards therein for successive time stamp markings thereon substantially in registry at substantially a predetermined location on said card.
 2. A clock according to claim 1 wherein said means connecting said casing and timepiece comprises spring means normally biasing said casing to dispose said coplanar wall portions free of the plane of said time stamp.
 3. A clock according to claim 2 wherein said connecting means comprises a plurality of parallel guide posts fixed around said timepiece parallel with said shaft, said casing peripheral wall having a plurality of bores slidably receiving said posts, means trapping said posts within said bores but permitting limited slidable movement therebetween,and means closing the ends of said bores opposite said posts, said spring means being compressed between said closing means and the inner ends of said posts.
 4. A clock according to claim 3 wherein said casing has a narrow slot extending between and opening through said card slot end wall and the outer surface of said peripheral wall, one of said bores being perpendicularly aligned with and opening into said narrow slot, said casing having a cavity opening into said narrow slot opposite said bore, said closing means for said bore having an aperture therethrough, a lock pin fixed to the guide post in said bore and extending through said aperture and across said narrow slot into said cavity when said casing is moved toward said timepiece in opposition to said spring means, and a lock plate slidably mounted in said narrow slot and spring biased so that its inner end normally protrudes into said card Slot and said plate overlies said lock pin, said lock plate having an opening which is aligned with said lock pin when said plate is displaced by a card inserted into said card slot to permit passage of said pin through said opening and movement of said casing relative to said timepiece.
 5. A clock according to claim 4 wherein said transverse wall is independent of said peripheral wall, said casing including means rigidly securing said walls together, said transverse wall having a flat recess in its inner surface defining said card and narrow slots.
 6. A clock according to claim 5 wherein said transverse wall is transparent and comprises a dial overlying said time stamp.
 7. A clock according to claim 1 wherein said transverse wall is independent of said peripheral wall, said casing including means rigidly securing said walls together, said transverse wall having a flat recess in its inner surface defining said card slot.
 8. A time-stamp clock for marking a time card inserted therein, comprising; a time piece including a drive shaft; a carrier mounted for rotation by said drive shaft and having a stamp face; a time-stamp having only a time mark, mounted on said carrier stamp face for rotation therewith; and guide means overlying said carrier and time-stamp for receiving an inserted card and guiding the card against said stamp to provide said mark, said means including guide surfaces for spatially fixing three edges of said card to restrain lateral movement thereof, said guide means supporting translatory axial displacement with respect to said carrier and stamp, whereby to enable the card to be brought to bear against said stamp to provide said marks, and a locking device normally engaged for preventing relative displacement between said guide means and said time stamp, said locking device being disengageable by a time card inserted into said guide means.
 9. A device according to claim 8, wherein said locking device comprises a slide inserted between a peripheral wall and a transverse wall respectively of a casing constituting said guide means, said slide projecting into the space defined within said guide means under spring action and covering a locking pin slidingly passing through said peripheral wall of the casing, said locking slide being shiftable into a position disengaged from said locking pin by a time card inserted into said guide means. 